Two years after its announcement, the million-dollar humanitarian fund agreed between the government of Nicolas Maduro and the Venezuelan opposition remains unfulfilled, becoming yet another frustrated promise amid the country's crisis.
This mechanism, negotiated with the mediation of the Kingdom of Norway, was intended to finance food, health and infrastructure programs with Venezuelan state resources frozen in the international financial system. However, the initiative was stalled by legal obstacles, political tensions and lack of government will.
An agreement for a humanitarian fund that was never fulfilled
He November 26, 2022, government and opposition delegates signed a partial agreement that included the creation of a single trust fund under the administration of the UNIts purpose was to improve the living conditions of the Venezuelan population in areas such as health, electricity, school meals and educational infrastructure, in addition to addressing climate emergencies.
The humanitarian fund was expected to handle around $3 billion, but its implementation moved forward cautiously and without transparency. May 2023, the government of USA He guaranteed that these resources would be protected from international creditors, in an attempt to unblock their execution.
However, the State Department, now directed by Marco Rubio, has not issued any new updates on the status of the initiative.
Factors that paralyzed the fund
While the fund remained in limbo, Venezuela continued to face a deep humanitarian crisis, with a External debt of 161 billion dollars and creditor demands that complicated any financial movement of the State.
Even in October 2023, the UN The organization assumed that the fund would be implemented, assuring that it would serve to assist the most vulnerable sectors. However, the reality was different: the organization continued to operate its own Humanitarian Fund for Venezuela, created in 2020, which was not linked to the political negotiations.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported that in 2023 provided assistance to 3.5 million people, focusing on food, health and livelihoods in states such as Zulia, Capital District, Bolivar and Miranda.
Politics Above the Social
In the midst of this scenario, the Humanitarian fund agreed for 2022 never materialized. A report from the agency EFE revealed that in 2023 The mechanism was ready to receive funds, but required the final signature of the Maduro government, which never came.
By then, negotiations between the government and the opposition were focused on the political-electoral agreements signed in Barbados in October 2023, which included conditions for the presidential elections of 2024However, failures by both sides, especially in the selection of the opposition candidate, led to an escalation of tensions.
Sources close to the negotiations confirmed to the Voice of America (VOA) that the fund was “left aside” and that the government never showed real interest in implementing it, since its priority was to ensure the reelection of Nicolas Maduro.
A New Cycle of Crisis and International Ignorance
The presidential elections of July 2024 marked a new turning point. Although Ripe was declared the winner, the opposition denounced fraud, claiming that its candidate, Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, gained an advantage of more than 35 percentage points.
In this context, governments such as that of USA They have ignored the re-election of Ripe, supporting Gonzalez Urrutia as president-elect. Meanwhile, Chavismo is holding discreet meetings with certain sectors of the opposition, although the Norwegian Negotiating Mechanism has not had any new formal sessions.
As the political and economic crisis continues to deepen, the Humanitarian fund agreed two years ago seems to have been forgotten, leaving millions of Venezuelans without the promised support.
Conclusion: A Fund That Never Existed
The case of the humanitarian fund for Venezuela is a reflection of how political agreements can become Simple negotiation tools with no real impact in the population.
As the government and opposition continue to dispute power, Millions of Venezuelans continue to face precarious conditions, without the resources intended to improve their quality of life reaching those who really need them.
Two years later, the fund remains an unfulfilled promise.
Source: Voice of America
